Henry port



UNITED STATES PATENT FFICI.`

HENRY Pour, or NEW vonk, N. Y.

BOOT `AND SHOE. i

Specification of Letters Patent NAO. 33,051, dated August 13, 1861.

To all whom fit mag/concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY PORT, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the h/Ianufacture of Boots and Shoes and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe annexed drawing, making a part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, in which- Figure lis a view of the bottom of the last on which I secure thesole of the boot or shoe to the upper thereof; F ig. 2 is an elevation of the last with portions of the boot or shoe in section; and Fig. 3 is a top view of a pertinent part of my invention which will be hereafter more fully described.

The object of my invention is to cheapen the manufacture of boots and shoes, and to increase their durability and excellence without impairing their beauty or infringing on the comfort of the wearer. I accomplish this object by manufacturing the shoe in the following manner I iirst make the form shown in Fig. 3; the smooth face of which represents the inside surface of the heel and shank of the boot or shoe. Upon this form I lay up the shank and heel when made of leather, or mold it when made in india rubber or other plastic material; first making a mold of the proper form to lay over the form, Fig. 3, to cast the shank and heel in, and making it to fit the configuration of the shank and heel.

The form shown in Fig. 3 is made in sections; of which a represents the center piece, Z2 the rim, and c an end piece.- The center piece a fitsV accurately in the rim so as to form a close joint on the sides and rear end at right angles with the surface; and the front end of the center piece is also cut o5 at right angles to the surface, which, as the form is curved in its longitudinal direction, leaves an open space between the end of the center piece and the rim, which open space is then filled with a circular piece cl that iits snugly in its place. Before the center piece is fixed in its place there is a series of small V shaped grooves out across its periphery, and all the way around it, as shown by c, e. After the center piece has been put in its place there is a series of staple rivets f, j",

K made with V shaped points placed in the grooves c, e, the said staples being made to straddle the center piece from side to side `slope in opposite directions.

`as may be most convenient and cheap.

row of pins g, at right angles with its face for the purpose of piercing the shank that is hereafter to be formed. K

In the center piece a there are two pins h andi for the purpose of making holes in the shank and heel as they are laid up or molded. yAfter this form has been made substantially in the manner described, the heel and shank of india rubber or other plastic material is cast upon it with a suitable mold; by which means the staple part of the rivet is incorporated in the shank and heel and the points of the rivets are left projecting. When I desire to make the heel and shank of leather' I incorporate the staples with the work as it is laid u a, leaving by preference, the staples on the slank extending across the exterior surface.

The next step in the manufacture, according to my improvement, is to make the last, which is made of the ordinary form and with the bottom edge and center faced with metal as shown more particularly in Fig. 1. All around the edge and across the center I cut a row of curved notches lc, which alternately In the heel and shank of the last, screw pins Z and m are placed in conformity with the holes formed in the heel and shank above described. These pins are furnished with clamps and thumb screws which hold down the center and rear end of the skeleton metal plate m, the edge of which only is shown in Fig. 2, but which conforms in shape with the recess in the bottom of the last. The object of the plate a is to receive the rivets, and it is perforated with holes for them to pass through. This plate fills the same function as the welt, and it is of about the same width of the ordi nary welt, and is made with a center piece to receive the rivets that join the half sole to the shank. The toe end of the platenJ is held down by means Yof a screw 0 which screws into the toe of the last against the clamp p. This plate n may be used or rlnlot ie boot or shoe can be made just as well with an in-sole applied in the ordinary way. The

style of the last may be altered by cutting it off at the ball, and applying a toe piece of different shape, and a's desired.

'Ihe last having been constructed substantially as described, and the plate a being applied thereto, it is placed in the upper of the boot or shoe, and the edges thereof are drawn over and tacked to the sole of the last. The clamps and thumb screws are then removed; the shank and heel piece is placed over the corresponding part of the last on the pins z, and z' and it is pressed down so as to enter the points of the rivets in the corresponding holes of the plate n. The heel `and shank piece is then driven forcibly down by a die made to fit the outside shape, by Which operation the ends of the rivets are clenched or turned in the proper direction by the curved notches 7c, every other rivet being turned in an opposite direction according to the disposition of the notch. The half sole g is then put on and secured in a similar manner With flat, V shaped rivets; and the last is then Withdrawn and replaced with an iron last With a plain bottom upon which the clenching of the rivets is completed, Which also completes the boot or shoe.

1 It Will be seen from What I have above Written that the shank and heel is secured to the upper by means of staple rivets, that these staple rivets are flat and have V points; now, by making these rivets fiat they clench readily and closely against the in-sole, and

by making them with V points they readily enter the perforations made in the Welt plate f n and lsecurely attach the sole. And it Will be further seen that the rivets are clenched regularly in alternate directions by means of the notches in the metal facing of the last, which distributes the strain and gives it increased strength and durability.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. Making the shank and heel piece With the heads of the rivets incorporated therein, and With the points of the rivets projecting above the inner surface thereof, for the purpose of securing it to the upper leather.

2. The use of iat staple rivets with V points, for the purpose of securing the shank and heel piece to the upper leather substantially in the manner described.

3. Making notches in the metal face of the last in the manner described, for the purpose of giving direction to the clench of the rivet as set forth.

HENRY PORT.

Vitnesses WM. KEMBLE HALL, AMos BROADNAX. 

